Cervical Spine Anatomy Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Cervical Spine Anatomy Deck (44)
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1
Q

Cervical spine’s important job

A

Supports our head
Directs our vision
Protects the spinal cord (connection or our brain to the rest of the body)

2
Q

Anterior

A

Front

3
Q

Posterior

A

Back

4
Q

Vertebra

A

Bones that make up the spine

5
Q

How many bones make up the spine?

A

24

6
Q

Vertebra stacked on top of one another are called

A

the spinal column

7
Q

The body’s main upright support is the

A

spinal column

8
Q

How many vertebra make up the cervical spine?

A
  1. Often referred to as c1 - c7
9
Q

What does the bottom of the skull connect to?

A

c1 or atlas

10
Q

Which direction does the cervical spine curve?

A

Slightly inward

11
Q

Where does the cervical spine end?

A

Where c7 joins the top of the thoracic spine

12
Q

What sits on top of c1 or atlas?

A

The base of the skull

13
Q

What forms a hole through the center of the atlas?

A

Two thick boney arches

14
Q

Why is the opening the largest in the atlas

A

Because the spinal cord is wider where it first exits the brain

15
Q

Where does the atlas sit?

A

On top of the c2 also referred to as the axis

16
Q

What is the boney nob on top of the axis called?

A

the dens. it points up and fits through a hole in the atlas

17
Q

What gives the neck its ability to turn to the left and right?

A

The special connection between the atlas and axis

18
Q

What is the main part of each cervical vertebra?

A

A round block of bone called the vertebral body

19
Q

What attaches to the back of the vertebral body?

A

A bone ring formed by to pedicles that connect to the back of the vertebral body and two lamina that join the pedicles to complete the ring

20
Q

What do the vertebra form when stacked on top of one another?

A

A hollow tube that surrounds the spinal cord. The inside of this tube is called the spinal canal

21
Q

What do the bone rings provide?

A

A protective roof that protects the spinal cord

22
Q

What projects posteriorly from the same point where the two lamina bones join together at the back of the spine?

A

Boney projections called spinous processes. These are what you feel when you rub your fingers up and down the back of your spine

23
Q

What are the two boney knobs that point out to the side from the vertebra?

A

Transverse Processes

24
Q

What passes through the transverse processes of the cervical spine and is unique to the cervical spine?

A

Transverse foramen

25
Q

What does the transverse foramen provide?

A

A passageway for arteries that run up each side of the neck to supply the back of the brain with blood

26
Q

What are between each set of vertebra?

A

two joints called facet joints

27
Q

What covers the surface of the facet joints?

A

Articular cartilage, a smooth rubbery material that covers the ends of most joints. It allows the ends of the bones to move together smoothly with minimal friction.

28
Q

What is formed when vertebra are stacked on top of one another?

A

Neural foramen

29
Q

What leaves through the neural foramen?

A

A nerve root leaves through this opening. One on the left and one on the right

30
Q

What does the spinal cord travel through?

A

The spinal cord travels through the spinal canal

31
Q

Where do the nerve roots from the cervical spine go?

A

The upper extremities, upper body and certain organs

32
Q

What are ligaments?

A

Strong connective tissues that connect bones to other bones

33
Q

Anterior Longitudinal Ligament

A

Runs lengthwise down the front of the vertebral bodies

34
Q

Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

A

Attaches on the back of the vertebral bodies

35
Q

Ligamentum Flavum

A

a long elastic band that connects to the front surface of each of the lamina bones

36
Q

What are facet joints surrounded by

A

a joint capsule that is made up of ligaments

37
Q

Intervertebral disc

A

A special structure in the spine that sits between each pair of vertebra

38
Q

What two parts make up the intervertebral disc?

A

the nucleus pulposus annulus fibrosis

39
Q

What is the nucleus pulposus

A

A spongy material that sits in the middle of the intervertebral disc and provides most of the shock absorption for the spine

40
Q

What is the annulus fibrosis?

A

A series of strong ligamentous rings that surround the pulposus annulus fibrosis that attach to the vertebra above and below the intervertebral disc

41
Q

What is a spinal segment?

A

Two vertebra separated by an intervertebral disc, two nerve roots, two small facet joints that link each level of the spinal column

42
Q

How does the cervical spine bend and rotate?

A

The working together of the facet joints and the intervertebral disc. The facet joints slide while the intervertebral disc works like a flexible disc between the two vertebra

43
Q

What is the cervical spine?

A

A complex machine with an important job to do.

44
Q

How can you understand how problems in the neck can cause pain and disfunction?

A

By understanding the structure and function